Raise it right

Being a parent is difficult. We are often sharing advice with friends about raising children. We are all on the same path- hoping our kids learn to be a productive functioning members of society. This journey is a difficult one. No matter what stage of parenting you are at, there is always someone you turn to in order to figure out what to you should do.

From the first sense of “I better do everything I can to just keep this living creature alive” to “these monsters will be the death of me” to “I can’t wait until they move out”- raising kids is a crazy game. Plenty of other parents out there are doing their best, just like us.

Doing the right thing when raising kids isn’t always easy. We try and show them the pathway to a good life but of course, they don’t always listen. I know I didn’t listen to my parents when I was a teen. But it’s my mistakes that I want my children to avoid.

However, mistakes are inevitable. It’s a good learning experience for everyone. As long as we grow and try to change our behavior to improve ourselves, then mistakes are good.

I have friends looking at mine and my wife’s parenting style. Sometimes we are doing the right thing, other times, we are guessing just like the rest of you. This weekend I had breakfast, lunch and dinner dates with friends. We spoke of our lives and inevitably we began talking about our children. I have noticed that the struggles are similar in many ways. We all love our kids but they make us crazy when they don’t listen.

As much as it pains me when my kids are hurt, I pick them up, brush them off and let them try again. Watching them break rules is aggravating when you have to dole out punishments. We can’t always be the good guy.

I’m proud of all of the accomplishments our children have done. When they succeed, I feel like we’ve done something right as parents.

At the end of the day I just hope that when our children look back on their lives, they appreciate what we did to guide them.